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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0175 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001152 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO COMMERCI AL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISION S -- |
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| 16 | 16 | | DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senator Ryan W. Pearson |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 07, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Commerce |
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| 20 | 20 | | (by request) |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 6-13.1-28 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-13.1 entitled "Deceptive 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Trade Practices" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 6-13.1-28. Financing of motor vehicles — Term and rate of interest prominently 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | displayed. 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) Any contract to finance the sale of a motor vehicle shall prominently display the term 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | and rate of interest. 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) The borrower’s initials or signature shall appear immediately adjacent to the term and 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | to the rate of interest on the loan agreement that shall only serve as an acknowledgement that the 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | borrower has been informed of the terms and rate. The borrower shall also be required to separately 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | sign the loan agreement to bind himself or herself to the contract. 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (c) No contract to finance the lease of a motor vehicle shall use the term "down payment", 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | "money down", or any similar language to describe lump sum payments made at the time of 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | financing to reduce monthly lease payments. The lessee shall be provided and required to 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | acknowledge a plain language disclosure in at least eleven (11) point font that any lump sum money 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | paid at the time of financing will not be returned if the vehicle is involved in an incident and 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | determined to be a total loss, regardless of the circumstances. 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (c)(d) Any agreement to finance a motor vehicle that does not comply with the provision 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | of this section shall be voidable within thirty (30) days at the option of the borrower; provided, 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC001152 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | however, the borrower shall be responsible for any damage to the vehicle. 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | ======== |
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| 47 | 47 | | LC001152 |
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| 48 | 48 | | ======== |
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| 49 | 49 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | LC001152 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 52 | 52 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 53 | 53 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 54 | 54 | | OF |
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| 55 | 55 | | A N A C T |
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| 56 | 56 | | RELATING TO COMMERCI AL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- |
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| 57 | 57 | | DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES |
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| 58 | 58 | | *** |
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| 59 | 59 | | This act would prohibit leasing disclosures to use terms such as, "down payment", "money 1 |
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| 60 | 60 | | down", or any similar language to describe lump sum payments made to reduce monthly lease 2 |
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| 61 | 61 | | payments. This act would provide that, the lessee be provided with a disclosure that in the event of 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | a total loss of the motor vehicle, any lump sum payments made are non-refundable, regardless of 4 |
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| 63 | 63 | | the circumstances. 5 |
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| 64 | 64 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 6 |
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| 65 | 65 | | ======== |
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| 66 | 66 | | LC001152 |
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| 67 | 67 | | ======== |
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| 68 | 68 | | |
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